After some reflection and recovery, CityBeat finally reviews Cincinnati's 2013 Bunbury Music Festival

BUNBURY MUSIC FEST: DAY 1

After months of rising anticipation and weeks of weirdly intermittent and torrential rain, Bunbury's first day looked to be a winner. A great announced lineup, no precipitation in the forecast and nothing but sunshine expected for the day; against all odds, that's exactly what we got. But it wasn't the rain to come that presented a problem, it was the rain that had already fallen; the area on the Serpentine Wall that had perfectly pocketed the Rockstar Stage last year was completely swallowed by the rising Ohio River, and the stage had to be moved to the opposite end of the field housing the all important Main Stage. It turned out to be a pretty decent fix, all things considered.

After securing my Level Three media pass (which, in the hierarchy of accessibility, I think meant that if any band needed help moving equipment, I was obligated to roadie for them), I headed for the Bud Light stage for Public. I had done a story on them back in January; they were home for Christmas so given their proximity, they came to my house and we did the interview in my basement. My daughter had answered the door and let them in, and for weeks afterward she was telling her friends about the cute guys I had interviewed at the house. Public's teenage girl effect was fully evident at their Bunbury appearance, as squealy females shrieked their appreciation for every song, and randomly shouted "I love you!"s arced over the rather sizable crowd. The trio did songs from their self-titled EP, a new tune called "Honey Bee" and, taking a page from the infinitely talented and creatively twisted Richard Thompson, offered a thunderously blazing turn on Britney Spears' "Toxic." In the studio, Public has the sound of a ramped up Modest Mouse, but in the live arena, they definitely blister and kick a little closer to the Led Zeppelin vibe they claimed as inspiration during our conversation, adding a dollop of harmonic Pop to sweeten the deal. If teenage girls are any indicator — and they usually are — Public could be headed for Walk the Moon territory pretty quickly.

Next up, it was Alone at 3AM at the Lawn Stage. I love these guys; super solid, crunchy heartland Indie Pop/Rock that states its case without a lot of unnecessary flash or padding. The band had plodded along for close to seven years before solidifying a dedicated line-up behind vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Max Fender and bassist Joey Beck and moving forward; a good deal of growth occurred with the additions of Sarah Davis on keys and Chris Mueller on drums (and business savvy). That in turn lit a fire under Fender, leading to a pair of albums in the last three years — 2010's Cut Your Gills and last year's Midwest Mess.

For A@3's Bunbury slot, the quintet was showing off their new guitarist; Clay Cason's recent departure left a gap which has been admirably filled by Jake Tippey, taking a busman's holiday from his howling duties in the Frankl Project and proving every bit as valuable in a Pop/Rock context. The band roared through songs from their most recent albums, introduced a couple of new songs (Chris mentioned after the show that A@3 would be working on an EP, and then tracking a new full length for imminent release) and even dipped back into their debut album, City Out of Luck, for a spin through "Mexico." Max's gruff voice sits comfortably in the Paul Westerberg/Bruce Springsteen range and it's the perfect vehicle for expressing his blue collar love-and-life songs. Can't wait to hear the new stuff in the studio, kids.

Before setting out for the Rockstar Stage, I caught the opening of Ohio Knife, one of Cincinnati's brightest new entities. Initially a side project for the Chocolate Horse, vocalist/guitarist Jason Snell, guitarist Andrew Higley and drummer Joe Suer — who all played together in Readymaid as well — ultimately put the Horse in the stable to concentrate on the Punk-scrubbed Blues of Ohio Knife, and with good reason. The trio is a sweat-soaked hurricane in the studio (their 2012 EP was a marvel), but the live translation hits with the force and heat of a flamethrower in an ammunition dump, and it won't be long before the CEA nominees for Best New Artist wind up taking home some bling. Where are we with the full length, guys?

After a quick shot of Ohio Knife, it was time to motor to the other end of the festival to check out the Dunwells. The UK outfit fronted by, logically enough, the Dunwell brothers, has found a good deal of success with their debut album, Blind Sighted Faith, and its ubiquitous single "I Could Be a King." When they played the single, frontman Joseph Dunwell thanked Q102 for their support, but it bears pointing out that, WNKU has been beating the drum for the Dunwells for quite some time now (just as they had for the similarly Folk/Pop toned Mumford & Sons). That being said, the age of the crowd seemed to indicate that Q102's demographic was probably best represented here today, so perhaps the win should be scored in their column after all. However the commissioner decides to rule, the Dunwells put together a crisp and wonderfully vibrant set that pays homage to the West Coast sounds of the Eagles and CSNY. The one exception to that sonic blueprint is the aforementioned "I Could Be a King," which offers an irresistable Pop edge that shimmers like the best of Crowded House. When brother David Dunwell strapped on the old five string to play the hit, he noted wryly, "I think every Englishman should at some point come to America and stand in front of an American audience holding a banjo with no idea how to play it." I think he was being graciously self-deprecating. The Dunwells seemed to go down a storm and I think they would find a large and enthusiastic audience if they returned outside of the auspices of the Bunbury Festival. Quick note: If you see a Dunwells album titled Follow the Road in stores (for you youngsters, a building where your parents buy music) or online, it is actually a re-sequenced and remixed version of Blind Sighted Faith, with a few alternate versions tossed in for flavor.

I briefly considered heading over to the Bud Light Stage to see some of Everest (a pick from Bunbury worker bee extraordinaire Jacob Heintz), but opted to check out a bit of Tegan and Sara at the Main Stage before making a definite decision.

I've interviewed both Quin twins over the years — most recently, I talked to Sara the year after the release of 2009's Sainthood — and while I lean toward their early work as far as my personal taste is concerned, their last trio of albums have been fairly well stacked with radio-friendly Pop songs with the potential to reach a massive audience. The enormous turnout for their Bunbury set would seem to support their decision to go the pure Pop route, but the fact is that Tegan and Sara have been cultivating a large and diverse audience for the past decade and a half, and their synth-driven Pop direction was not enough of a departure to alienate any portion of their slavishly loyal fan base. Predictably, the bulk of their set was devoted to Heartthrob, along with faves from The Con and Sainthood; they also reached all the way back to 2002's If It Was You for "Living Room" and they threw in a cover of Tiesto's "Feel It in My Bones," on which they originally guested. As expected, the adrenaline and volume of the live experience ferments Tegan and Sara's sugary Pop confections into something with a little more bite. Even for those who weren't completely sold on their recent work (my hand is up), Tegan and Sara's live presentation could make you see the light.

After T&S, it was time to hit the Amphitheater Stage to see Buffalo Killers. If you missed seeing the James Gang in 1971, here's your chance. Because I'm old enough to have actually missed the James Gang (with Joe Walsh, that is; I was lucky enough to see the even rarer sight of the James Gang with Tommy Bolin. Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls …) that joke is only marginally funny. Luckily, Buffalo Killers have approximated the trio's fuzzy guitar assault and maniacally furious rhythm section here in the 21st century to give an indication of what Joe and the boys might have sounded like if they had stayed together a little longer and gelled a little better. And even though Buffalo Killers have managed to inject a bit of poppy sunshine into their bunker-busting sound, in the live arena the band still rumbles and shoots like a rhythmic Sherman tank. The Killers hit all of my teenage buttons (which were installed long ago and have never been fully deactivated, same as every man on the planet, I suppose) and any opportunity to witness their feedback-through-an-elephant-gun glory is a chance to time machine back to the days when electric dinosaurs roamed the earth and their squalling racket could be heard from sweaty and sparsely attended auditoriums to densely populated arenas. I love Buffalo Killers. They remind me that there is wisdom in remembering the past, joy in celebrating the present and excitement in anticipating the future.

After a brief stroll around the grounds to grab something to eat, it was back to the Amphitheater Stage for a healthy dose of Rock hard Americana with Those Darlins. The Nashville outfit has been down a Darlin since early last year when Kelley Anderson opted out of the band to pursue other musical projects (her new group, Grand Strand, got a good buzz after touring with Richard Lloyd last year), and her amicable departure has obviously changed the group's dynamic, particularly the absence of their signature three-part harmonies. The remaining Darlins — Jessi (Wariner), Nikki (Kvarnes) and drummer Linwood Regensberg — are carrying on with the-show-must-go-on determination; new bassist Adrian Barrera seems to be slotting in quite well and Those Darlins' core sound, along the lines of the Pandoras if they'd been influenced by Wanda Jackson and the Ramones, remains largely intact. Their Bunbury set did display a good deal more Rock and a good deal less twang than you'll find on their first two albums — 2009's Those Darlins and 2011's Screws Get Loose — and it's a safe bet that the new album they're currently working on will follow that blueprint as well. No one at the Amphitheater seemed too dismayed at the shift, particularly the hyperactive dance contingent in front of the stage. Two Darlins is clearly enough Darlins to make Those Darlins.

I bailed out of Those Darlins a bit early to make the long walk back to the Rockstar Stage to take in the Gypsy Jazz goodness of DeVotchKa. I've long been a fan of the Denver-based outfit (I came to them through 2004's How It Ends, fell in love with their version of the Velvets' "Venus in Furs" from the Curse Your Little Heart EP and adored their work in Little Miss Sunshine) but have never had the opportunity to see them in the flesh, and when I saw them on the Bunbury schedule, I knew there was little that could draw me away from their show. Luckily, their 9 p.m. slot meant they weren't programmed against anyone else, so the way was cleared for my first live DeVotchKa experience.

DeVotchKa lived up to and surpassed all advance billing with a set that walked the wire between frenetic and atmospheric but maintained high energy from start to finish. Even when they slowed the pace, there was an electric tension in their presentation that made clear something explosive could happen at any moment. And it usually did. All four members of the band — Nick Urata, Jeanie Schroder, Tom Hagerman, Shawn King — play multiple instruments so almost any sound is available to DeVotchKa, including theremin, boukouki, accordion, trumpet and Melodica. And Schroder does the heaviest lifting, either plucking with power and subtlety on her enormous upright bass or blowing away like Dizzy Gillespie on steroids into a gigantic sousaphone that looks as though it would be the punishment instrument for getting bad grades in high school band ("Okay, Baker, D in Orchestra, 10 solos with the death tuba..."). It wasn't a performance to analyze or interpret, it was a Gypsy Jazz soundtrack for a magic show, a feeling to wash over you like cool waves on warm sand, a Slavic Rock and Roll dance party. More than a few people on DeVotchKa's Facebook page declared it the best show of Bunbury's three-day weekend. It was most assuredly one of them.

Finally, it was time for fun. Not the fun that we'd been having all day at Bunbury, but the fun. that's topping the charts and recently played Saturday Night Live and won a couple of Grammys this year. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the band. I like their sound to a certain extent, it's energetic and entertaining and I really like Nate Reuss' voice. I actually interviewed him a decade ago when he was fronting the Format; ironically and perhaps presciently, he used the word "fun" a half dozen times to describe his band at the time.

At any rate, I hung around to see the show to be able to report how it was to my daughter, and because the band clearly doesn't take itself too seriously. When they accepted their Record of the Year Grammy for "We Are Young," Reuss said, "I don't know what I was thinking, writing the chorus for this song. If this is in HD, everybody can see our faces, and we are not very young." All in all, I was expecting a pleasant if unassuming concert experience.

And that's pretty much how it started, with the "Some Nights" intro, the title track to their sophomore album (it would show up in its entirety during the band's two-song encore, leading into "One Foot" from Some Nights). In fact, fun. performed almost all of Some Nights (save for "All Alright"), and over half of their debut album, 2009's Aim and Ignite, perhaps best represented by "At Least I'm Not as Sad (as I Used to Be)" and the nearly eight-minute closer, "Take Your Time (Coming Home)." Of course, they saved their anthemic signature singles for the second half of the set, first "Carry On" and then, two songs later, the epic Grammy-winning Pop of "We Are Young." Sandwiched in between though was a very charming version of The Rolling Stones’ "You Can't Always Get What You Want," an interesting lead-in to "We Are Young," a song that would seem to sport a diametrically opposed message. By the time fun. concluded with "Stars" as the second song of their encore, they had fired a confetti cannon (there was still yards of fun. confetti on the field when The National played Sunday night), performed the majority of their two studio albums and put on a show that proved they were worthy of their first-night-closing status. While I think they should remove the rather severe punctuation from their name, I have to say I was at least slightly converted toward a fun. lifestyle.

As CityBeat’s Assistant Music Editor for the past three months, I’m the person behind most of the music listings—those microscopic items printed in the middle of the newspaper every week. With the assistance of Real Actual Music Editor Mike Breen and a crazy little interface called Zipscene, I make them appear there and on the Web site.

This morning I was in the car listening to the radio, growing restless with NPR’s downer economic news. I decided to check in on the Pop music world and surfed between a couple of Top 40 stations. I stopped on “Love Lockdown,” the new single from Kanye West.

It’s a pretty interesting and unique track, with some great beats and killer melodies. But the most noticeable aspect of the recording is the sound of Kanye’s voice. And that sound is anything but unique in today’s mainstream music.

Maybe it’s our hospitable river-town tendency to have a big, open heart for such middle American tunesmithery. Maybe it started with our love for the Ass Ponys and their AltCountry ways back in the ‘90s. Who knows?

Nothin’ wrong with any of this, mind you. But I’d like to take a moment on this here blog to clue you into a small contingent of freaky, confrontational local bands from the past that were the furthest thing imaginable from such comparatively downright friendly musical acts.

Where do you begin with a band like Lynyrd Skynyrd?
Everyone has been out at a bar or a concert and heard some crazy and/or drunk lunatic
shouting to the band on stage, “FREE BIRD!!!” They are the epitome of
and gold standard for Southern Rock music. Even now, through the tragedy
of the plane crash in 1977 to the re-formed band, Skynyrd still
provides electric performances every night. They still happily rock the
hits of the early days. like “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama,”
while mixing in the music they are still releasing, most recently Last of a Dying Breed, which came out late last year.

CityBeat had time to catch up with lead vocalist
Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of the band’s original front man
Ronnie Van Zant. The two discussed how Skynyrd fits into Rock music
today, as well as the wonderful feelings the band still gets performing
every night on stage.

Skynyrd performs at Riverbend Music Center tonight with
Bad Company, providing the same energy as the cast from the ’70s and
showing audiences what real Southern Rock sounds like.

CityBeat: Do you have any crazy Cincinnati memories from the past?

JVZ: We have had so many good shows there. Years
back, when a flood hit, there was water in the first four or five rows.
People were kind of standing in the water. I was like, “Wow these are
really diehards.” I don’t even know how many times we have played at
that particular amphitheater (Riverbend), but it has always been a good, hot,
sweaty, summer Rock & Roll show, which is how it is supposed to be.

CB: The band has had multiple lineup
changes over the years since you joined the band. How do you integrate
someone new into the band?

JVZ: For us, they have to be a friend, someone we
have known, someone we admire as a musician, someone we think would fit
into our family. When we are out on the road, running up and down the
road playing shows, you have to be not only a member of a band but,
especially with Lynyrd Skynyrd, you have to be a part of the Skynyrd
nation. You have to be a part of the family. Our newest member is Johnny
Colt, who was bass player with The Black Crowes. Colt fits right in with
us. He’s loony as heck and so are we. We have a great time and love
doing what we do. I hope Johnny is with us for a long, long time. He is
quite the guy. It has been awesome.

CB: I know you guys have worked many
times with one of my favorite guitarists, John 5. What was that
experience like for you and have you done any collaborations recently?

JVZ: Well, yeah, he was on our last record, Last of a Dying Breed.
John is a good friend of us. We knew we were going to be good friends
with John because we were in Nashville writing and our manager mentioned
John and said, “You know, he is a little different than you guys.” And
we said, “ That’s OK, that’s no problem.”

John walked in, he was just
coming from a photo shoot. He had on the fingernails with his hair all
up. When he walked in and I went, “Damn, you are different. Damn, are you
a freak or something?” And he said, “I was thinking the same crap about
you guys.” We just hit it off. He is a wonderful guitar player. Not
only can he play Heavy Metal and Rock & Roll, but he can play the hell
out of some Country music, which we love. I just admire his work and he
is one of the most phenomenal guitar players I have had the pleasure to
work with.

CB: A lot of people are saying Rock is dead and Country music is the new Rock. Do you believe that Rock is dead?

JVZ: No. I think Country music is Lynyrd Skynyrd. I
think a lot of the Country music is what we do, but I don’t think Rock &
Roll is dead at all. People have been saying that shit for years and
years and years: "Rock & Roll is dead." Then it comes back. It’s like
anything else.

For us we just played Houston, Texas, in front of 10,000
people. We played Bristol, Va., I think there were 14,000 people on
a Sunday night. The night before last we were in Camden, N.J.,
14,000 people on a Wednesday night. I’m sure Cincinnati is doing quite
well. We are in Pittsburgh tonight. It is going to be phenomenal here.

If Rock & Roll is dead and gone, man, I am missing out on it.

CB: Tell me a little bit about Last of a Dying Breed and which songs we are going to hear from that album when you come to Cincinnati?

JVZ: Well, it is debatable. What we do, each night
we try to think about what new song we want to put in. Right now we are
really concentrating on 40 years. It’s been 40 years since (Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) came out. It’s been our major focus to play as many songs off that record and celebrate that era.

CB: Where do you see yourself in 15 more years?

JVZ: Hopefully alive. Hopefully playing some shows
and still doing this. Doing a lot of fishing and drinking a good
Budweiser and something like that, I don’t know. If you want to make God
laugh, tell him your plans. I never really plan too much. I just like to
go along with the flow and the good Lord throws me in the direction he
wants me to go.

CB: Do you ever get tired of playing “Free Bird”?

JVZ: Not at all. I am quick to say, "Not at all." How
many bands would love to have songs like that? Most bands say we would
give anything to have one of those. “Free Bird” and ("Sweet Home Alabama"), that’s
the cool thing about Skynyrd. We have three generations of fans who love
those songs. It is amazing to me.

We are out with Bad Company right now
and we are real big Bad Company fans. We are at the top of the game
with these guys. From my era and a lot of other people’s era, Bad
Company was the rule of the roost when it came to Rock & Roll. Paul
Rogers is one of the best singers. Simon Kirke and Mick Ralphs have been
around for years. It is just great to be out on the road and playing
shows with good friends too. We are having a blast. We hope to do it
again sometime after this tour and look forward to coming your way.

CB: Are you flattered when someone like Kid Rock uses "Sweet Home Alabama" in his songs? Excited? Upset? How do
you feel when someone integrates that song?

JVZ: We were actually doing a tour with Bobby when
he had “All Summer Long” (the song that incorporates "Sweet Home") out. For us, hell, it keeps us in the spotlight.
He did a good job on it. It was a hit song for him and everybody got
paid. So surely, we are like, “Can someone else use it again and again?”

It is kind of funny when you think of stuff like that. Who would have
thought when that song was written a long, long time ago, people would
still be loving it and a band from Jacksonville, Fla., and what
success my brother and Alan and Gary, my hat is off to them. I love
keeping the music alive. It is a great thing. It’s a great thing because
the song has been used in Forrest Gump and various movies. Any time anything like that pops up as long, as it is not in bad taste, is great. It has been a good ride.

For a band with three properly released, critically acclaimed albums, a lot has come to be expected of TV on the Radio. They are on a major label, Interscope, for which they have now released two full-length albums. They recreate their entire discography live, reimagining the layered songscapes they are known for on record into thrilling burners and mid-tempo dread. And they have amassed a following, particularly in the Indie scene, that rivals any of their contemporaries, evidenced by the No. 12 Billboard debut of their new album Dear Science. The crowd truly entered Bogart’s with a sense that this was a band on the verge of truly cracking it REALLY big, which is not necessarily the territory a group of art-rockers naturally inhabits. I guess they just aren’t ready for the big stage yet, at least not in the live setting.

Riverbend made two concert announcements today that will have some music fans jubilant and others heartbroken. The good news — popular Indie Pop band Death Cab for Cutie will kick off their fall tour for the new album, Codes and Keys, here in Cincinnati at PNC Pavilion on Sept. 30. On the opposite of the spectrum, after some sketchy behavior during a Texas concert this weekend, Kings of Leon has decided to cancel the remainder of the band's summer tour, including the Aug. 24 stop at Riverbend with openers Band of Horses.

The nominees for the 15th annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards music program have been announced and you can vote for your favorites right now. Just click here, make your selection and then make plans to join us on Nov. 20 at the Madison Theater in Covington, where the CEAs will be doled out during what is sure to be another spectacular awards ceremony. Good luck to all the nominees! The full list of this year's nominations is below.

Seminal Alternative Rock bands Jane's Addiction, Weezer and Death Cab for Cutie to headline the three-day, outdoor music fest this summer

Cincinnati's summer concert schedule got a lot cooler this morning, as organizers announced some of the performers at this year's inaugural Bunbury Music Festival, which will go down July 13-15 across six stages along the riverfront at Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point. Bunbury founder Bill Donabedian (who co-founded CItyBeat's MidPoint Music Festival and helped turn Fountain Square into a legitimate live music outlet) had been saying he was on the hunt for several big time headliners for the event; today, we found out he was successful, with iconic AltMusic bands Weezer, Jane's Addiction and Death Cab for Cutie confirmed as main stage anchors. Jane's is schedule for opening night, July 13, Weezer headlines July 14 and Death Cab will cap the fest off July 15. According to the press release, there will be plenty more performer announcements to come, with plans to feature around 100 acts total at the fest. Stay tuned — a full lineup is expected to be unveiled next month.

Securing the heavyweight headliners and announcing them enables Bunbury (being billed as "affordable, fun, tech savvy, and eco-friendly") to put tickets for the fest on sale. You can get them starting today through the Bunbury site here. One-day tickets are $46 and three-day passes are available for $93.

As Donabedian's work with MidPoint and Fountain Square would suggest, local music will also be a big part of Bunbury.

“The Bunbury Music Festival will feature the best of our local Indie bands with national and regional bands that fans may have seen at other great festivals and concert venues,” Donabedian said in a statement. “Fans should think of this as an authentic music experience.”

Bunbury's announcement is just the latest in a string of positive news concerning the live local music landscape of Greater Cincinnati, which seemed in potentially dire condition by the end of last year following the closing of Newport concert venue the Southgate House and other clubs.

Turns out the sky isn't falling. In fact, the future's so bright, I hope Bunbury has vendors on-site to sell shades.

Cincinnati's Heartless Bastards are gearing up for some heavy promotion for their third album, The Mountain, due from Fat Possum Records on Feb. 3. Along with a non-stop string of tour dates with The Black Keys, Gaslight Anthem and Andrew Bird, the group has a scheduled appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on Feb. 10.